Climate Forced Displacement SALOTE SOQO SENIOR PROGRAM LEADER - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Climate Forced Displacement

SALOTE SOQO SENIOR PROGRAM LEADER ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE & CLIMATE ACTION UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SERVICE COMMITTEE (UUSC)

UUSC’s Program: EJ & CA Program

Climate Forced Displacement

South Pacific Alaska

 Goal: To protect the rights of people that are forcibly displaced by climate induced

environmental issues in the South Pacific and in Alaska.

 Partnership with the most affected: Through grantmaking, research and advocacy  Vision: That a human-rights centered approach is adopted by local and international policy to

address the needs of communities to build protections in place, to uphold their rights and to migrate with dignity.

Climate Forced Displacement

 1 person/second is displaced by an environmental catastrophe/natural disaster  Climate change is a multiplier of risks: food, water and livelihood insecurity, incites violence and

conflict

 Climate displaced peoples don’t have any protection under international laws

Existing environmental problems + natural disasters & climate change impacts Widening existing problems - economic injustices, gender and class inequality, exploitation of indigenous peoples and resources = Forced displacement Involuntary or Forced Displacement

South Pacific Islands

Climate Change Impacts in the South Pacific

Coral Bleaching: Fiji Sea level rise, Tuvalu Food insecurity, Kiribati Cyclone Winston, Fiji 2016 Cyclone Pam, Vanuatu 2015 Water insecurity, Tuvalu

Fiji

 332 islands in 75,000 sq. miles  ~900,000 population  Economy: Tourism, sugar export, minerals,

agriculture

 SLR, increased sea surface temps, increased

cyclone frequency and intensities

 Food and water insecurity is prevalent in rural

areas and outer islands

 Many villagers are battling with encroaching

erosion due to sea level rise and coastal storms

 ~830 communities at risk.  Over 45 coastal communities need to be

relocated by 2025

 Vunidogoloa relocated to

Kenani

 Relocation period: 2007 to 2014  Cost ~$1million (Paid by the

state & village)

 Relocated 126 villagers (26

houses)

 Benefits: Safety, easier access

to transportation and healthcare, improved infrastructure, hope for the future.

 Challenges: Loss of cultural

lands, ancestral ties, burial site.

Vunidogoloa & Narikoso

 Narikoso relocating to

neighboring tribal lands

 Relocation period: 2011 - ?  Cost ~$1.7million (Paid by the

state & village)

 Relocate 7 households (26

houses)

 Benefits: Safety from coastal

inundation

 Challenges: Physical

separation from community …

Fiji’s National Response & Needs

 National Relocation Guideline

 Based on pilot studies from

Vunidogoloa and Narikoso

 Integrated Vulnerability Assessments

(IVA)

 Build climate resiliency through

adaptation

 Advocacy for GHG mitigation  International commitments to reduce

GHG emissions

 Funds & Technical Assistance for

Adaptation

 Coastal resilience  Flood control measures  Drought alleviation measures  Resilient agricultural systems